All posts by Raven About The Parks

South Dakota

Jewel Cave National Monument

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Overview

Sometimes overshadowed by nearby Wind Cave National Park, the third-longest mapped cave system in the world is located within Jewel Cave National Monument.  Thick calcite crystals are the sparkly jewels that adorn the walls of this gem in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

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Highlights

Lantern Tour, Scenic Tour, Wild Caving Tour

Must-Do Activity

The Wild Caving Tour is reserved for those willing and able to squeeze through the 8.5 x 24-inch crawlspace located out front of the visitor center.  It is a taste of what is to come during sections like the “Brain Drain.”  Thick layers of manganese will permanently stain clothing worn by those brave enough to take this epic 4-hour journey that crawls less than half a mile past rare hydromagnesite balloons and gypsum flowers.

Best Trail

Most of the forest within the monument has burned, but Canyons Trail makes a 3.5 mile loop from the visitor center or Historic Ranger Cabin.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Most cave tours do not allow you to touch anything, but on the Historic Lantern Tour at the historic entrance to the cave (summer only) you can feel the 4-inch long calcite crystals (also called dogtooth spar) that formed like a bathtub ring as water slowly drained out.

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Peak Season

Summer when the Historic Lantern Tour and Wild Caving Tour are offered.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/jeca/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None to park, but there is a charge for all tours.

Road Conditions

All roads paved.  Note that the Historic Lantern Tour at the historic entrance to the cave is not at the main visitor center where the elevator is.

Camping

None, but plenty of places at Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and Black Hills National Forest.

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Wild Caving Tour patrons have to prove they can squeeze through this 8.5×24-inch crawlspace.

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Thick layers of manganese will permanently stain clothing worn on the Wild Caving Tour.
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Ranger at the entrance for the Historic Lantern Tour.

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This formation is known as “Madonna and Child.”

Explore More – How many miles of the cave’s passages have currently been mapped?

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WONDON WAS HERE

South Carolina

Congaree National Park

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Overview

The last uncut bottomland hardwood forest in the southeast was originally preserved as Congaree Swamp National Monument in 1976 then became a National Park in 2003.  These forests once covered 52-million acres of the southeastern United States and today this park contains some of the tallest examples of its native tree species in the world.

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Highlights

Baldcypress trees with knees, hiking, birding, paddling

Must-Do Activity

Hop in a canoe or kayak to explore remote sections of this primeval forest.  As you might imagine, all of this standing water is a great breeding ground for mosquitoes; just another reason to come in the winter.  At the visitor center, a handy rating system helps prepare you for the onslaught or the “All clear.”

Best Trail

Even if the ground is flooded, stick to the wheelchair accessible boardwalk and you can still hike through the forest for 2.4 miles without getting your feet wet.

Instagram-worthy Photo

Our favorite tree here is the baldcypress, one of the few deciduous conifer trees (meaning it loses all its needles every autumn).  Baldcypress trees are famous for their “knees” which rise from their roots up to seven feet in the air, helping the roots breathe when underwater.

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Peak Season

We prefer the winter when mosquitoes are absent, but anytime is good at this park that only saw 159,595 visitors in 2017.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/cong/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved, except right at the Cedar Creek Landing boat launch.

Camping

Longleaf Campground has 8 sites and Bluff Campsite has three about a mile from the visitor center.  Backcountry camping is allowed with a free permit.

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Paddle a kayak or canoe for a special look into these primeval floodplain forests.

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Winter is a good time to visit if you want to avoid the “ruthless” mosquitoes.

 

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The boardwalk keeps your feet dry even if the forest is flooded.

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This design we created to celebrate Congaree National Park is available on a variety of products at Cafe Press and Amazon.

Explore More – How tall are the record-holding water tupelo, cherrybark oak, and swamp hickory trees in the park?

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WONDON WAS HERE

 

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Rhode Island

Roger Williams National Memorial

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Overview

In Providence, Rhode Island lies Roger Williams National Memorial, dedicated to the man who left the Puritan-led Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636 to found a city based on religious freedom.  A small National Park Service (NPS) visitor center houses a tiny museum and shows a brief film.

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Highlights

Statue, 4.5-acre park, film

Must-Do Activity

After watching the 7-minute film, engage the passionate NPS employees in a discussion about the importance of the First Amendment and freedom of religion to American history.

Best Trail

A short, but steep walk takes you to a large statue of Roger Williams that offers a great overlook of the city, though it is not technically in the National Memorial.

Instagram-worthy Photo

It has to be the Roger Williams statue with its incredible views of Providence.

Looking out over Providence with Roger Williams

Peak Season

Summer, though it is open year round

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/rowi/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved, but steep if you drive up to the statue.

Camping

Twenty miles away, Casimir Pulaski Memorial State Park offers camping.

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The NPS visitor center is housed in this small historic building in downtown Providence.

Tiff within the Roger Williams Park
Tiff near the historic well in the 4.5-acre park in downtown Providence.

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Wondon hanging out with Roger Williams in the tiny visitor center (the video screen is in the background).

Tiff hiking up the steep roads from the Visitor Center to the Memorial
Tiff walking uphill to the statue.

A view of the memorial with Providence, RI in the background
This granite statue of Roger Williams is actually 15-feet tall, but you can’t get too close to it.

Explore More – In what year was most of Providence destroyed (including Roger Williams’ homestead) during King Philip’s War?

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WONDON WAS HERE

Pennsylvania

Fort Necessity National Battlefield

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Overview

In a nondescript field in rural western Pennsylvania, a battle began what some historians consider the first worldwide war.  In April 1754, a young George Washington led British troops, Virginia militia, and their American Indian allies on a mission to push the French out of the western frontier.  After Washington’s troops ambushed and scalped French officers, an angry retaliatory force pinned him down at the hastily constructed Fort Necessity.  Washington surrendered on July 3, 1754, starting a global conflict that became known as the Seven Years War (or the French and Indian War).

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Highlights

Museum, reconstructed fort, Mount Washington Tavern

Must-Do Activity

The National Park Service manages an excellent museum and a re-creation of the small fort.  There is a playground, too, perhaps to entice children to come learn that little actions can have big consequences.

Best Trail

Make a side trip to nearby Jumonville Glen, where a short loop trail guides visitors through the forest where the initial ambush on the French occurred.

Instagram-worthy Photo

The reconstructed Mount Washington Tavern, a stagecoach stop on the historic National Road.  Construction of the National Road began in 1811 and businesses like this one soon popped up to serve travelers.

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Peak Season

Open year round, except Jumonville Glen and Braddock’s Grave are only open in summer.

Hours

https://www.nps.gov/fone/planyourvisit/hours.htm

Fees

None

Road Conditions

All roads paved

Camping

Ohiopyle State Park has running water, as do several private campgrounds nearby.

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Archaeologist using a metal detector to look for artifacts from 1754.

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Not many National Park Service sites have a playground like Fort Necessity National Battlefield.

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The free National Park Service museum details the battle and its global ramifications; there’s young George Washington.

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Inside the Mount Washington Tavern.

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Ambush site at Jumonville Glen.

Explore More – Despite its name, the Seven Years War actually lasted how many years after fighting took place on four continents (as well as in the Philippines and Caribbean islands)?

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WONDON WAS HERE

List

Top 10 Novels Set in a National Park

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There is nothing like a great novel, especially one set in a National Park. Here is a list of our 10 favorite fiction books set in a unit of the National Park Service System.  Our previous list covered non-fiction books.

  1. Skinny Dip

by Carl Hiaasen (2004)

Everglades National Park

Hiaasen sets all of his funny novels in South Florida (including the wonderful children’s book Hoot).  We have read several, but this is our favorite with swamps, subtropical islands, alligators, and a dive from a cruise boat.

  1. Island of the Blue Dolphins

by Scott O’Dell (1960)

Channel Islands National Park

A Newbery Medal Winner that tells the story of a girl marooned for 18 years in the Channel Islands off California in the 1800s.  Based loosely on a true story.

  1. Winter Study

by Nevada Barr (2008)

Isle Royale National Park

Ranger Anna Pigeon mysteries are a staple in most National Park bookstores.  They are entertaining and we always learn about something new, like wolf research and hypothermia prevention in this one.

  1. River Runs Deep

by Jennifer Bradbury (2015)

Mammoth Cave National Park

Long before it became a National Park, cave tours were led by slaves in Kentucky.  This children’s book also deals with the cave’s brief history as an infirmary for tuberculosis patients.

  1. Misty of Chincoteague

by Marguerite Henry (1947)

Assateague Island National Seashore

A classic about a wild pony that grows up on Assateague and Chincoteague Islands on the Atlantic border of Maryland and Virginia.  She also wrote the excellent Brighty of the Grand Canyon.

  1. One Day on Beetle Rock

by Sally Carrighar (1944)

Sequoia National Park

Humans are not main characters in this imaginative novel that details the happenings in the lives of the many animals inhabiting this California forest.

  1. Song of the Exile

by Kiana Davenport (1999)

Kalaupapa National Historical Park

Historical fiction follows the decades of changes experienced by a woman who is exiled to the leper colony on the isolated Kalaupapa Peninsula of Moloka’i Island in Hawai’i.  Alan Brennert’s Moloka’i is a similar book.

  1. Serena

by Ron Rash (2008)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

This novel is set in the years prior to the creation of the park when ruthless logging companies rushed to maximize their profits.  Also a feature film starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

  1. The Deer Stalker

by Zane Grey (1925)

Grand Canyon National Park

The greatest Western novelist ever turned his attention to a wildlife manager on the North Rim of the canyon in the wake of World War I.  Another of his works set in a National Park is Boulder Dam (Lake Mead National Recreation Area).

…and finally our #1 novel set in a National Park!

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  1. The Killer Angels

by Michael Shaara (1974)

Gettysburg National Military Park

Narratives of the momentous events at Gettysburg in July 1863 told from the point-of-view of some of its most prominent players.  Arguably the best work of historical fiction ever written.

Honorable Mention

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

by Tom Robbins (1976)

Badlands National Park

Tom Robbins is hilarious.  His books are character driven (like the unforgettable Sissy Hankshaw with her oversized thumbs) but the South Dakota setting is also important to this book.